How do I use the dividend reinvestment service?

The dividend reinvestment service allows you to choose to have the dividends you receive automatically reinvested to buy more shares in the company paying the dividend, rather than keeping the dividend as cash.

You can choose to have dividends reinvested for one or more specific shares you hold or you can choose to have all eligible dividends reinvested for all shares you hold now and any eligible shares you buy in the future. You will need to make an election for each account that you have so if you have both a SIPP and an ISA you will need to make an election for each account. If you open any further accounts in the future, you will need to make an election for the new account also.

The service does not allow you to reinvest dividends received from international shares and residual shares or income received from funds.

To use the service, just log in to your account and select ‘Dividend reinvestment’ from the ‘My account’ menu. You then choose ‘Select all’ or you can choose which investments from your account you wish to include in the service by ticking the box next to the investment name in the table.

Once you have chosen to include an investment in the service a red D will appear in your portfolio table under the Dividend reinvestment column (D). You can also change your settings directly on the portfolio table – all shares eligible for dividend reinvestment are shown with a grey D.

Once you have made the election, we do the rest. At the point that a dividend is to be reinvested, your account must hold at least one share in the company that you’ve elected to reinvest dividends for. We will use the cash dividend received to buy as many shares as possible but will not carry forward any cash to the next reinvestment. This means there will be small amounts of cash that will not be reinvested.

The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you originally invested. We don't offer advice, so it's important you understand the risks, if you're unsure please consult a suitably qualified financial adviser. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and rules may change. Past performance is not a guide to future performance and some investments need to be held for the long term.